Morocco Is Now Looking To Expand Its Tourism Sector Ahead Of The 2030 FIFA World Cup

After Morocco saw an overwhelming earthquake in September 2023, the country is now looking to economically extend its tourism sector ahead of the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

The country recently hosted this year’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Annual Meetings, an event which drew over 10,000 people to the city. This is the second time that an African country has hosted the yearly discussions between the two international financial institutions.

In the consequence of the earthquake, questions were raised about whether the area for the Yearly meetings ought to be changed. But, the IMF and World Bank decided to stay with Morocco, who have by and by shown flexibility despite the heavy loss.

“What we saw over the last four weeks, testified that the authorities as well as the civil society in Morocco, were able to build back very fast and this is something that also we wanted to underline with these annual meetings,” explained Jihad Azour, the Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the IMF.

Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department, also said:

“We had the opportunity to visit the affected area and it’s very impressive. We saw students back into schools, in different forms but they are studying again.”

Tourism is one of the significant attractions for Morocco, and in 2022 alone the country welcomed around 11 million people from different countries, and in excess of 960,000 sightseers also visiting in September 2023. The travel industry has been of a critical space with almost 550,000 people directly employed in this sector, representing 15% of the total working population.

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Morocco is back to normal life, according to Fatim-Zahra Ammor, Morocco’s Minister of Tourism. Authorities see the increase in visitor numbers as a show of confidence – and a stamp of approval for its immediate post-earthquake response.

“In terms of arrivals, we have been monitoring reservations and cancellations and frankly we did quite well. What was also great is that the tourists that were in place at that time in Morocco started sharing on social media their testimonials about the real situation and that really helped us a lot to convey what was really happening in Marrakech.”

“We believe that the future is bright for tourism in Morocco. We have a strong vision which is to double the number of tourists in Morocco by 2030, which is around 26 million visitors. We are re-shifting our offer around experiences that the traveller can [enjoy the] beach and sun, ocean waves or culture or gastronomy. So the offer is built around experiences rather than destinations,” Fatim-Zahra Ammor said in an interview.

“There are lots of events that Morocco will organise in the future that I am sure will bring more hotels that can accommodate all the events especially the World Cup 2030”.

The country is expecting to double the quantity of sightseers by 2030, when it co-host the FIFA World Cup, alongside Spain and Portugal.

In the mean time, climate change is also a central issue and is at the bleeding edge of Morocco’s new plans that will shape the eventual fate of tourism into the indefinite future.

Moroccans are said to be well disposed people as indicated by guests who have ceaselessly been to the country before the earthquake.